$4.8 MILLION STUDY APPROVED FOR RIVER.

Byline: Andrea Cavanaugh Staff Writer

Among Southern California rivers, the Santa Clara could be the last of its kind.

Despite the pressures placed on it by booming development, the river still tumbles more than 100 miles from its origin high in the San Gabriel Mountains through Los Angeles and Ventura counties to the sea, still relatively unscathed by humans.

``The Santa Clara is the only major river left in Southern California that is in a remotely natural state,'' said Ron Bottorff, chairman of Friends of the Santa Clara River. ``We'd like to keep it that way.''

Bottorff hopes the first major study of the Santa Clara River watershed will help to further that goal.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted this past week to join with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Los Angeles County to undertake an $8.3 million study of the watershed.

``It really is a historic partnership between the Corps of Engineers, Ventura County and Los Angeles County,'' said Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long, whose district includes the Santa Clara Valley. ``They will be working together on this entire watershed.''

The study, which will examine the effects of population growth, erosion, sediment and wildlife habitats, will give policy makers the information they need to shape decisions affecting the river, said Jeff Pratt, director of the Ventura County Watershed Protection District.

``It will assess the difference between what we used to have and what we have now, and what we will have in 50 years,'' Pratt said. ``This is going to be both vision and a practical, technical document.''

The Army Corps of Engineers will pay for about half of the study costs, and the Ventura County Watershed Protection District will pay about $2.35 million, Pratt said.

The Watershed Protection District is a separate county entity governed by the Board of Supervisors and funded by property taxes, assessments and development fees.

Los Angeles County, where about 40 percent of the 1,600-acre watershed lies, is expected to pay the balance, Pratt said. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has yet to vote on the matter, a spokesman said.

Historically, the watershed, which includes tributaries such as Sespe, Piru and Santa Paula creeks, has been managed by a hodgepodge of local, state and federal agencies without a unifying plan.

The interests of developers, environmentalists, farmers, aggregate miners, water-quality officials and flood-control experts sometimes have resulted in clashing agendas. Officials expect the study will help smooth out differences and create a long-term plan for the watershed.

``What one wants conflicts with what another wants,'' Pratt said. ``We have to agree on what is best for all.''

Bottorff hopes the study will help preserve the undeveloped portions of the river before it is too late.

The Ventura County portion is mostly surrounded by agricultural greenbelts, and the area near the river's origin is virtually untouched, but the watershed has been ravaged by development in Los Angeles County, he said.

His organization is working to establish a 20-mile preservation corridor between Ventura and Fillmore. About 20 percent of the 6,000 acres already have been purchased, Bottorff said.

``I'd like to see the good areas restored,'' he said. ``It won't be pristine anymore, but it could be restored to a very high-quality riparian habitat.''

Andrea Cavanaugh, [phone]

andrea.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com